Guidelines to Starting and Managing the Schoolwide Reinforcement System

Principal’s 200 Club:

Guidelines to Starting and Managing the Schoolwide Reinforcement System

Start-up tasks – (responsible staff names may be added to left margin):

o Review description(s) of the system. Visit local sites using the system to see a demonstration.

o Consider renaming the schoolwide reinforcement system to match your school’s name, mascot, etc. Examples: Hornet’s Dozen, Washington Winner, Tampa Top Ten

o Design and construct a large wall chart with a numbered 10 X 10 grid of 4 ¼ X 4 ¼ inch spaces. Label A to J across the top and bottom, and 1 to 10 down the left and right sides (like a giant bingo card).

o Design, number*, and laminate 110 4 X 4 inch cards for the wall chart (see card sample in Appendix)

*Label 100 cards as A-1, A-2, and so on. Leave 10 cards blank so they can be labeled to replace lost cards.

o Put Velcro dots on wall chart and cards

o Prepare jar or box for cards

o Design and print “Good Behavior Tickets” (see Appendix)

o Prepare a colorful “Celebrity Book” binder/clipboard including pages (see Appendix)

o Review all rules and agree on the best time(s) for students to take Good Behavior Tickets to the office – Examples: by 1200 the next day, before school, immediately after the morning show, after lunch, after school

o Revise/agree on specific procedures for support staff (Primary and Backup Facilitators, Office Staff, Parent Contact Specialists, Mystery Motivator Coordinator, etc. - see role descriptions on following pages)

o Designate key support staff

o Provide written directions to all support staff and train them in their specific roles

o Provide general training to support staff and all other staff. Display/demo how to use all materials:

o Explain Good Behavior Tickets, trips to office, sign Celebrity Book, placing cards on the wall chart, 10 in a row-column-diagonal are winners, winner announcements, parent contacts

o Discuss element of “chance” (Bingo), and excitement of the “Mystery Motivator”

o Model, role play/rehearse, and give feedback until all staff proficiently distribute tickets

o Hang wall chart in office in a highly visible space, but out of student reach (this may be a wall or inside a window facing outward)

o Hang school rules near the chart, but out of student reach

o Find and agree on a list of powerful Mystery Motivators

o Hang the Mystery Motivator envelope near the chart, but out of student reach

o Put the “Celebrity Book” in a conspicuous space, but out of student reach – Ideas:

o propped on a desk or bookstand in the office

o hanging on the Principal’s door

o Plan announcement/introduction to students via “morning show” or assembly

o Show wall chart (may show video or photo)

o Explain Good Behavior Tickets, trips to office, sign Celebrity Book, placing cards on the wall chart, 10 in a row-column-diagonal are winners, winner announcements, parent contacts

o Discuss element of “chance” (Bingo), and excitement of the “Mystery Motivator”

Facilitator Role:

Primary Facilitator: ______________ Backup Facilitator 1: ____________

Backup Facilitator 2: ____________ Backup Facilitator 3: ____________

At start of the year:

· Train all staff

· Provide orientation to all students

· Oversee startup activities

After start of the year:

· Train newly-hired staff

· Oversee all staff roles

· Observe, reinforce, and reteach staff throughout the year

Before staff arrive each morning:

Place 1 Good Behavior Ticket in 10 staff mailboxes. Each ticket recepient must be trained on the procedures.

Note: To make it easier to distribute tickets and monitor ticket distribution, staff may be grouped

(e.g., by grade level) and assigned to specific days of the week. Example: Monday = Group 1.

· Possible modifications during first 4 weeks of the year:

o give direction sheets with tickets to help staff follow procedures correctly.

o may increase # of tickets distributed daily to “hook” students.

· As needed, during the year, give direction sheets with tickets to remind staff to follow procedures correctly.

During morning show:

· Announce names recorded in the Celebrity Book from the prior day.

· If the wall chart is nearly completed:

o Give teasers about winning the Mystery Motivator.

o Option: Show a photo or video of the nearly completed chart to generate excitement.

· If the wall chart is completed, (10 in a row, column, or diagonal):

o Announce winners’ names!

o Open and announce the Mystery Motivator!

o Describe how students will get the rewards (e.g., “At the end of the fifth period, get a hallway pass and come to the cafeteria…”).

Before end of each day:

· Make (or delegate) parent contact calls for students recorded in the Celebrity Book. If this responsibility was delegated, check later to be sure of follow-through by end of day.

· Check for (nearly) completed wall chart (10 in a row, column, or diagonal.)

o Option: Take photo or video of the nearly completed chart to show to students (e.g., via morning show) to generate excitement.

· If the wall chart is completed (10 in a row, column, or diagonal):

o Gather winner’s cards from the wall chart and record their names for announcement.

o Ask office staff to remove all other cards from the wall chart, wipe them clean, and replace them in the card jar/box.

o Sneak a peak in the Mystery Motivator envelope to be sure it is available the next day!

o Select a new Mystery Motivator and place it in an envelope with a big ? symbol on it. This will be posted next to the chart (out of easy reach) when all names are cleared.

o Intermittently (e.g., approx. monthly) announce that the staff who completed the tickets for the winning students also are winners! Provide a highly preferred activity, items, or other reinforcers to each staff member. This will help maintain staff participation.

Teacher’s Directions for Giving Out Good Behavior Tickets:

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to give out a Good Behavior Ticket!

You can help our school achieve these important goals:

· assure a positive school environment (giving and getting “respect”)

· increase desirable, prosocial student behaviors

· decrease bullying, teasing, defiance, disrespect

· provide multiple levels of praise for the student, plus positive contacts with parents

· use the powerful element of “chance” and the excitement of a “mystery”

· use a research-proven, powerful intervention (designed and tested over ten years by Dr. Bill Jenson)

Your job is really easy… just give out the ticket(s) following these 6 rules:

Sign your name and date the Good Behavior Ticket before you distribute it.

Give the Good Behavior Ticket to

any unknown student NOT in your classroom or grade level.

Exception: Sometimes, special directions may be written on the ticket, such as:

o Give this ticket to any well-behaved student in your room.

o Give this ticket to any well-behaved unknown student in the same grade level.

Give the Good Behavior Ticket in these places

· anywhere in the school, but it is best to concentrate on these areas:

§ cafeteria

§ hallways, bus ramps, sidewalks

§ crowded spaces (assemblies, etc.)

Give the Good Behavior Ticket anytime from student arrival to dismissal

for these behaviors:

o following a school rule

o caring behavior, being courteous, showing respect or kindness, positive social skills

o safe behaviors (walking, hands to self, etc.)

o making a good effort, improved behavior

Hand the Good Behavior Ticket to the student and say something like

“Congratulations! You’re a celebrity!” Give a positive gesture, high 5, etc.

Give enthusiastic, specific praise for what the student did or said.

Relate the behavior to a school rule, if possible.

Remind the student to sign the Good Behavior Ticket with the first and last name.

If needed, print the student’s name so it is legible.

Office Staff Roles:

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to help our school achieve these important goals:

· assure a positive school environment (giving and getting “respect”)

· increase desirable, prosocial student behaviors

· decrease bullying, teasing, defiance, disrespect

· rely on multiple levels of praise for the student, plus positive contacts with parents

· use the powerful element of “chance” and the excitement of a “mystery”

· use a research-proven, powerful intervention (designed and tested over ten years by Bill Jenson)

Your job is really easy… just follow these rules:

When the student arrives and shows the Good Behavior Ticket, say something like:

“Congratulations! You’re a celebrity!” Give a positive gesture, high 5, etc.

Give enthusiastic, specific praise for what the student did or said.

Relate the behavior to a school rule, if possible.

Optional: Play a celebration song on a boom box! Dance! Shake a tambourine! Ring a bell!

Show the Celebrity Book to the student and say something like:

“Your name goes in the Celebrity Book for the Principal to see!

Your name will be announced to the whole school.

And, your parent will be called about your good behavior!”

Ask to see the Good Behavior Ticket.

Ask the student to write his/her name in the Celebrity Book.

If needed, print the student’s first and last name so it is legible!

Complete all other columns.

Write OK, the date, and your initials on the Good Behavior Ticket to show it has been recorded.

Return the Good Behavior Ticket to the student and say something like:

“You can keep this to show your teacher, family and friends.”

Ask the student to:

“Close your eyes or look away (no peeking) and draw one card from the card jar.”

Print the student’s first and last name on the card using a grease pencil or dry-erase marker.

No permanent markers please!

Direct (and if needed, help) the student safely put the card on the correct space on the wall chart. Say something like: “10 cards across, up & down, or diagonally means all 10 students get the Mystery Motivator. Hey, you’re already a winner because your name is in the Celebrity Book. We’ll call your parent with the good news, your name will be announced to the whole school, and your name is on the wall chart for all to see!”

Parent Contact Specialist Roles:

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to help our school achieve these important goals:

· assure a positive school environment (giving and getting “respect”)

· increase desirable, prosocial student behaviors

· decrease bullying, teasing, defiance, disrespect

· rely on multiple levels of praise for the student, plus positive contacts with parents

· use the element of “chance” and the excitement of a “mystery”

· use a research-proven, powerful intervention (designed and tested over ten years by Bill Jenson)

Your job is really easy… just follow these rules:

Be positive and enthusiastic!

Near the end of the school day, get the Celebrity Book.

Find the names of the students who were recently recorded in the book.

Optional: Invite the student to sit with you when you make the call.

Call each student’s parent and say something like:

“Hi, this is (your name) from (school name).

Congratulations! Your son/daughter was rewarded today for good behavior!

S/he (describe the good behavior, school rule that was followed) and

earned a Good Behavior Ticket.

His/her name was written in the Celebrity Book for the Principal to see!

You are invited to come see the Celebrity Book at the school.

Your son/daughter’s name will also be announced to the whole school on the

morning show.

His/her name is also entered in a bingo-type game to win an extra special reward.

Please tell your son/daughter how proud we are about this good behavior.”

If needed, leave a message.

If you cannot leave a message, prepare a letter to send to the parent. See appendix for a sample/template.

Initial and mark the Celebrity Book to show the method used to contact the parent.

Mystery Motivator Coordinator:

Maintain a menu of low- or no-cost, valued student rewards:

· special privileges, activities or events

· edible treats (include a variety of items for students on restricted diets)

· items, trinkets, unique school supplies

· opportunities to skip assignments (e.g., Principal’s Pass to Skip One Homework Assignment)

Maintain a list of moderate cost “big rewards.” These are selected as Mystery Motivators at the start of the year and about once per month thereafter to maintain high interest in earning the rewards.

Examples: coupon for free CD at local store, $5 gift card at local store, limo ride to lunch with Principal, ticket to movie theatre, ticket to sporting or arts event, sports team gear, special T-shirt.

Coordinate efforts with Principal, PTA, etc. to solicit items from local vendors, sponsors, etc.

Maintain and periodically check the inventory of the rewards listed above. Remove inaccessible items from the menu as needed.

Example: If a watermelon party is listed, but watermelons are out of season and unavailable in the stores, temporarily remove that item from the menu.

Survey teachers and staff for fresh ideas 2-3 times per year.

Solicit fresh ideas from students 2-3 times per year.

Review existing reinforcer inventories, surveys, menus, etc. on the internet, in training materials, etc.

· Try Jackpot! at: http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/jackpot/jackpot.php

· Review same with teachers, staff, and students

On small slips of paper, write descriptions of each Mystery Motivator and how to access it.

Example: “When we call your name on the public address system; go to cafeteria, go to office; during lunch, after school, after morning show.”

Fold the slips of paper and place them in a bucket, box, etc. in a secure area.

The Facilitator will select a new Mystery Motivator from the box and place it in the envelope when the chart is cleared to start again.

Appendix:

Sample Good Behavior Ticket with school logo

Sample card with school logo and name changed (to be numbered and laminated):

Appendix: Sample Celebrity Book page

Celebrity Book

Date Student name Faculty name Card # Comments – good behavior Staff Contact

(When student writes, who gave the ticket (on chart) that earned the ticket Initial Code

staff may print name

to assure name is legible.)

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___

___ _________________ ________________ ___-___ ____________________ ___ ___